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Hurricane Rita shuts down U.S. refineries

Oil raced toward $68 a barrel on Thursday as Hurricane Rita bore down on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production facilities and forced six refineries in Texas to shut down. The moves represent a further blow to an already wounded U.S. region recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. Companies scrambled to close these facilities and evacuate staff as Rita, now a maximum Category 5 storm, set her sights and her 175 mph winds on Texas, home to a quarter of U.S. refining capacity?just like the New Orleans/Louisiana coast. It is expected to hit land by early Saturday. Tens of thousands of people have already been evacuated due to Hurricane Rita, and business that had been hoping to reopen as the floodwaters subside in New Orleans were dismayed at the news that yet another deadly storm was heading their way.